Church and monastery wing with welfare
Looking for a location for new housing for foundation Wende we have chosen a church with a monastery cloister garden enclosed by monastery wings in the southwest of The Hague. The Housing foundation Haag Wonen purchased the complex. The renovation of the entire complex started with one of the monastery wings. This wing has already been renovated and furnished. Currently we have started to design the so-called Jerusalem Wing. HaagWonen Crystal B.V. has asked our office to write a script for the church. This has been done. Foundation Wende, Housing foundation Haag Wonen and HaagWonen Crystal B.V. have commissioned us to write a program of spatial develop requirements. This has also been completed.
The architect Jan A. van der Laan, indeed, a brother of the famous Dom Hans van der Laan, designed the Roman Catholic Church for the parish of Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament in 1951. The adjacent Father House encloses a beautiful cloister garden, an oasis of silence. The architectural style of the church belongs to the so-called Bossche School; stout, solid masonry with some embellishments and refinements by curbstones, indentation and use of masonry in a different colours. The walls are covered with tiles, making a jagged facade image.
The interior has the same simplicity. The high roof of the nave is supported by a series of columns that are connected by characteristic curves. Above these arches a series of windows allow for natural light. The lower aisles on either side of the nave contain windows in the brick arches of the sidewalls. Therefore the light comes inward from the side at a lower level. The materials are brick and stone. The wooden banks are removed, as are the relics and religious expressions.
In 2010 it will be a challenging task to respectfully renovate the church for the care of people.
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